Bruins rested and ready for Game 2 against Maple Leafs

Friday

One of the hidden benefits of Thursday’s series-opening victory was that none of the Bruins’ key defensive players were overworked.

BOSTON -- As long as they won on Thursday night, the Bruins were bound to say they couldn’t have asked for a better start to their best-of-seven first-round playoff series with the Maple Leafs.

There were, however, some hidden ways by which that 5-1 decision in Game 1 could be measured as a smashing success, such as: Playing against a fast, attacking team that finished fourth in the NHL goals and second in the league on the power play, the Bruins allowed only 27 shots to get through to goalie Tuukka Rask, and better yet, they didn’t have to over-work any of their critical defensive personnel -- a benefit they can roll into Game 2 on Saturday night at TD Garden (8:05, NBC/Ch. 10, WBZ-FM/98.5).

“We had good balance. That’s nice,” said Kevan Miller, who teamed with Torey Krug on a new version of the Bruins’ No. 2 defense pairing for most of the night, and was one of three defensemen who rotated through penalty-killing situations. “Everybody’s out there getting time, and contributing. I think, top to bottom, we did a good job of that.”

Ice time figures for the Bruins’ six blue-liners were more even than usual, ranging from 16:33 (Adam McQuaid) to 20:51 (rookie Charlie McAvoy). Zdeno Chara, the Bruins’ 41-year old captain, came in at 19:41 -- well below his team-leading 22:54 during the regular season. Krug (20:34), Miller (19:19) and rookie Matt Grzelcyk (16:50) all played at about the level they averaged during the regular season, so nobody had to over-play, and nobody got shuffled out of the rotation.

“Hopefully that can continue,” Miller said, “because hopefully it’s going to be a long playoff. You want to save your legs as much as possible when you get the opportunity.”

Limiting their penalties helped. The B’s only took three -- none after Danton Heinen’s slashing infraction 6:49 into the second period -- and killed them all. That helped Chara, Miller and McQuaid, who will see a bit more shorthanded time with penalty-killing defenseman Brandon Carlo (broken ankle) lost until next season, plus the Bruins’ three forward tandems.

Coach Bruce Cassidy took pains during the regular season to reduce the amount of time linemates Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand spent killing penalties, with positive results. Players whose shorthanded contributions had previously been limited (Tim Schaller, Noel Acciari, Sean Kuraly) came through when given more responsibility, helping the Bruins place third in the NHL in penalty-killing percentage (82.9), while Bergeron and Marchand were fresher for use in offensive situations, and less susceptible to injury.

The Acciari-Kuraly duo led in penalty-killing ice time on Thursday, followed by Schaller and Tommy Wingels. Bergeron and Marchand were third, both killing 1:48 of the six minutes the B’s were shorthanded.

Cassidy didn’t take things too far, though. Defensemen who rarely killed penalties during the regular season (Krug and rookies McAvoy and Grzelyck, all better known for their offensive skills) didn’t get on-the-job training on Thursday, and the coach went with his best forward duo -- Bergeron and Marchand -- at the start of every shorthanded situation.

“Now, at this time of year, it’s all about winning, so absolutely” Bergeron-Marchand will be the go-to tandem, Cassidy said. “They went out (Thursday) night fairly early and often, and they will.”

Around the boards: Riley Nash, sidelined by the effects of a puck that struck his ear on March 31, practiced on Friday in a non-contact jersey. Cassidy said Game 2 “looks doubtful” for Nash, but that the center is progressing well. … Wingels, who left Game 1 after taking a hit that resulted in Leafs’ forward Nazem Kadri being assessed a major penalty and game misconduct, was still being evaluated on Friday. Cassidy said Wingels is questionable for Game 2. Kadri was hit Friday with a three-game suspension. He was suspended for the fourth time in his career. … Ryan Donato, a healthy scratch in Game 1, practiced on the third line Friday with Acciari and David Backes, and could make his postseason debut if both Wingels and Nash are ruled out. “We plan on using Ryan,” Cassidy said of the Scituate native. “We just want to pick the right time.”

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